What state of matter is fire? Is it a liquid? I get that question a LOT, so let me clarify. The ancient scientists (Greek, Chinese… you name it) thought fire was a fundamental element. Earth, Air Water, and Fire (sometimes Space was added, and the Chinese actually omitted Air and substituted Wood and Metal instead) were thought to be the basic building blocks of everything, and named it an element. And it’s not a bad start, especially if you don’t have a microscope or access to the internet.
Today’s definition of an element comes from peeking inside the nucleus of an atom and counting up the protons. In a flame, there are lots of different molecules from NO, NO2, NO3, CO, CO2, O2, C… to name a few. So fire can’t be an element, because it’s made up of other elements. So, what is it?
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Cool.Thanks!
Liquid fires are really dangerous, because you can’t turn them off and they slip and slide the flames everywhere the liquid goes. This experiment is very specific about how we handle it, and only an adult should be doing this experiment for you! And, yes, it’s the alcohol in the liquid that is burning in this combustion reaction.
can you make a liquid fire with alcohol?